Chapter's song: You Are The Reason by Calum Scott

"Are you taking me to one of those fancy places you like?" I ask as Mark grabs my hand and guides me through a narrow back-alley. "Although, this doesn't look too fancy," I murmur to myself as he stops in front of a gray door. There's a keypad next to it and Mark is smiling as he takes out his phone and I turn towards the busy city lights behind us. They're blurring since the city never stops, especially at King's Cross.

"It's not posh, really. Just sort of secret," he says as he's about to touch the numbers on the keypad when he stops. "You don't mind, do you?" his gaze turns to me and all his usual confidence seems to evaporate for a second.

"No, it's okay." I can't help but swoon at the fact that I seem to have that effect on him. The moment that thought flashes through mind, I feel as if my stomach sinks. It's been days since I had that chat with my ex, but I still feel like I'm somehow cheating on Mark. Which is incredibly silly because I'm not.

He smiles. "Good, because I'm officially on a budget at the moment." He types in the code he has on his phone as he chuckles. "Scott made me review one of the changes he wants to implement, and our income was the biggest one."

The door unlocks and my lips tug up. "On a budget or not, you never cease to impress me, Mark."

He bows playfully before letting me pass in front of him. "We aim to please... cabbage."

I roll my eyes knowing full well that he's probably smirking right now.

There's a set of stairs in front of us. The light on the hallways is dimmed, so it all gives you an eerie feeling. There are no pictures, no decorations, no nothing. As we reach the top floor, a guy is waiting for us on the entrance. He's wearing all black but still manages to look a bit posh with a hipster beard and haircut. He greets us by name and hands over the menu after finding us a spot next to a small chimney. My eyes roam around the room. It's a small pub, with very intimate settings, a couple of comfortable sofa's facing each other, a small table in the middle and there's another small chimney across the room. Lounge music plays in the background, but it's barely there, it makes you feel as if you're in your own living room. Okay, if you lived in a fancy apartment. Not me, though. I don't even have a chimney.

Mark shows the waiter a golden card, and the guy nods. I raise an eyebrow. "So, this isn't sumptuous at all, huh?"

"It's not!" He puts away the card on his wallet before his blue eyes land on me once more. "It's quite affordable, but I like the fact that you feel like you're in a private club."

"It seems like, it. You have a secret code and all that."

"Exactly, it's the best thing other than renting a whole restaurant."

I lean my head to the right. "You actually did that to impress me?"

Mark's smirk vanishes. He grabs his jacket and straightens an imaginary wrinkle. "I did not."

I burst out laughing. "You did! Oh my God! How did I not notice right away?"

"Because you're clueless 90% of the time, Kate," his tone is flat and stops my chuckles. "Anyway," he elongates the last y, "I might need to start looking for a job."

Did he sound annoyed in a way?

What am I missing now?

Quietly, I take a look at the menu, wondering why he thinks I'm so clueless. It doesn't take me long to know that I am. Anyone else would have noticed how their former boss wanted to lure them in their unethical practices, and up until the last second, I had hopes that he was going to offer me an actual job.

Slowly, I exhale. Clueless could be my actual second name, all right.

The waiter comes and takes our order. We both get a fancy-named cocktail, something I've never heard of, but sounds kind of cool. Mark also orders some chips and olives to nibble on.

"So, what kind of job are you looking for?" I try to change the topic and look not-so-clueless as Mark thinks I am.

He leans back on his couch. "I'm not sure. I'd like to start something from scratch."

"Why don't you start a rock climbing place or something like that? You're a good teacher, if I remember correctly." I smile as I remember the first time he took me rock climbing. I was a total mess.

He chuckles. "Now, that would be awesome."

"Why don't you?" I stare at him as he blinks at me, somewhat confused. "I think you're capable of doing anything you set your eyes on, Mark."

His lips curve on a lopsided smile. "Are you throwing my words back at me?"

"Sort of," I shrug. "I do think you could pull it off. It's something you know of and you're good at it too."

He looks away while his brows draw closer. "There are a lot of rock-climbing places in London, Kate."

"As there are a bunch of newspapers. And I'm still making one." I lean closer to the table and look him straight in the eyes, sort of challenging him to do this. "What could you offer to set it apart? That's what makes it different."

I stare at Kate. Fuck. She looks so gorgeous like that. She's oozing confidence, something that I don't have. At least not with her.

It's funny how I always lived under the pretence that I was this overconfident guy, loving all the attention, having the world on my feet. But truth is that I was just a lonely guy trying to survive in a sea filled with sharks. 

Until I noticed Kate. And then my life turned upside down. 

I'm still a bit confused if it's for good or not. I feel good with her, but there's a lot of things I wouldn't want to feel. And yet, here I am, drooling as I gaze at this amazing woman. 

"You're incredibly pushy, Kate. Did you know that?"

She laughs at my response. "Well, this doesn't look like a date, mate. You're calling me all sort of things like clueless and now pushy." She shakes her head still smiling. "You really need to step up your game."

"You're calling me mate, I'd say you need to step up your game as well," I retort.

The waiter brings our drinks and snacks.

"So, what could you do to set your rock climbing place apart?" Kate asks before grabbing a French fry to try.

I shrug. "I don't know. I think we need to make a benchmarking search and try all those places out. I need to know that they have in common to set mine apart."

Kate's eyes sparkle and her smile widens. "Now, we're talking."

Laughing, I take a sip of my drink. It has tequila in it, that's all I know, but it tastes good. I leave the glass on the table and grab Kate's hand. Her lips tug up and I lean closer to her.

"Does this feels more like a date now?" My lips are brushing her ear and I can hear how she takes an intake of breath. She doesn't say anything, she just nods and my whole body buzzes as I get even closer to her.

Her gaze is soft and deep, but for a moment, there's a flash of something there.

Uncertainty? Still?

Man. I do need to step up my game then. Kate needs to know how she means the world to me. I cup her chin and kiss her softly, but in that single kiss, I aim to show her how much I care for her. 

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